Systems and methods for delivering products via autonomous ground vehicles to restricted areas designated by customers

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided that provide for facilitating delivery, via autonomous ground vehicles, of products ordered by customers of a retailer to customer-specified restricted areas accessible by an entryway openable via an access code.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/798,992, filed Oct. 31, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/420,122, filed Nov. 10, 2016, each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to providing purchased products tocustomers and, in particular, to delivering products purchased bycustomers via autonomous ground vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Customers often purchase products from retailers over the internet andrequest delivery of the products. The products purchased by a customerare most often delivered to a home where the customer lives, and arevery commonly delivered at times when the customer is not home. Productsdelivered to a home address and left on the property of the customerwhen the customer is not home (e.g., at work) may be stolen and/ordamaged (e.g., by people or weather) before the product is picked up bythe customer. While it is not uncommon for residences to have restrictedaccess areas protected by gates/doors where the product or productsbeing delivered may be dropped off by the delivery service, suchgates/doors typically require an access code that the delivery servicesdo not have and thus cannot access such restricted areas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses, methods, andsystems pertaining to facilitating delivery of a product ordered by acustomer to a customer-specified restricted area accessible by anentryway openable via an access code. This description includesdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for facilitating delivery of a productordered by a customer to a customer-specified restricted area accessibleby an entryway openable via an access code in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of an exemplary retailer computing deviceusable with the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram of a process of facilitating delivery ofa product ordered by a customer to a customer-specified restricted areaaccessible by an entryway openable via an access code in accordance withsome embodiments.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity andhave not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/orrelative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may beexaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understandingof various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common butwell-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commerciallyfeasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. The terms and expressions used herein have theordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressionsby persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above exceptwhere different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but ismade merely for the purpose of describing the general principles ofexemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to “oneembodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,”“in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specificationmay, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems and methodsare provided for delivering, via autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs)and/or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), products ordered by customers toa customer-specified restricted area accessible by an entryway openablevia an access code. The AGVs are provided with wireless access codes togain access to the restricted area, where the AGVs are able to drop offproducts being delivered and/or pick up products being returned.

In some embodiments, a system for facilitating delivery of a productordered by a customer to a customer-specified restricted area accessibleby an entryway openable via an access code includes an autonomous groundvehicle configured to retain and transport the product ordered by thecustomer and a computing device including a processor-based controlcircuit and configured to send a first signal to the autonomous groundvehicle via a wireless network, the first signal including the accesscode for opening the entryway. In response to receipt of the firstsignal from the computing device over the wireless network, theautonomous ground vehicle is configured to relay the access code to acontrol unit operatively coupled to the entryway to cause the controlunit to open the entryway in response to receipt of the access code fromthe autonomous ground vehicle. The computing device is configured totransmit a second signal to the autonomous ground vehicle over thewireless network, the second signal including movement instructions forthe autonomous ground vehicle. The autonomous ground vehicle, afterreceipt of the second signal from the computing device over the wirelessnetwork, is configured to move into the restricted area, based on themovement instructions contained in the second signal, to deliver theproduct ordered by the customer.

In other embodiments, a method for facilitating delivery of a productordered by a customer to a customer-specified restricted area accessibleby an entryway openable via an access code includes providing anautonomous ground vehicle configured to retain and transport the productordered by the customer; providing a computing device including aprocessor-based control circuit; sending a first signal from thecomputing device to the autonomous ground vehicle via a wirelessnetwork, the first signal including the access code for opening theentryway; relaying, via the autonomous ground vehicle and in response toreceipt of the first signal from the computing device over the wirelessnetwork, the access code to a control unit operatively coupled to theentryway; causing the control unit to open the entryway in response toreceiving the access code relayed by the autonomous ground vehicle tothe control unit; transmitting, from the computing device, a secondsignal to the autonomous ground vehicle over the wireless network, thesecond signal including movement instructions for the autonomous groundvehicle; and moving the autonomous ground vehicle into the restrictedarea to deliver the product ordered by the customer based on themovement instructions contained in the second signal received by theautonomous ground vehicle from the computing device.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system 100 for facilitating delivery ofa product 190 ordered by a customer to a customer-specified restrictedarea 180 accessible by an entryway 185. It will be understood that thedetails of this example are intended to serve in an illustrativecapacity and are not necessarily intended to suggest any limitations inregards to the present teachings. The retailer may be any entityoperating as a brick-and-mortar physical location and/or a websiteaccessible, for example, via the internet or another network, by way ofwhich products 190 may be ordered by a consumer (e.g., customer of theretailer). A customer may be an individual or business entity. Exemplaryproducts 190 that may be ordered by the customer via the system 100 mayinclude, but are not limited to, general-purpose customer goods andconsumable products (e.g., food items, medications, or the like).

The exemplary system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 includes an order processingserver 130 of the retailer configured to process a purchase order by thecustomer for one or more products 190. The order processing server 130may be implemented as one server at one location, or as multipleinterconnected servers stored at multiple locations operated by theretailer, or for the retailer. As described in more detail below, theorder processing server 130 may communicate with one or more electronicdevices of system 100 via a network 125.

The network 125 may be a wide-area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless local area network(WLAN), Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)network), or any other internet or intranet network, or combinations ofsuch networks. Generally, communication between various electronicdevices of system 100 may take place over hard-wired, cellular, Wi-Fi orBluetooth networked components or the like. In some embodiments, one ormore electronic devices of system 100 may include cloud-based features,such as cloud-based memory storage.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the order processing server 130 is coupledto a customer information database 140. In some embodiments, thecustomer information database 140 may be configured to store informationassociated with customers of the retailer who order products 190 fromthe retailer. In some embodiments, the customer information database 140may store electronic information including but not limited to: personalinformation of the customers, including payment method information,delivery address information and any known delivery access restrictionsassociated with the residence of the customer, access code(s) associatedwith the restricted area 180 designated for delivery by the customer,product order history, pending order status, product order options, aswell as product delivery options of the customer.

The customer information database 140 may be stored, for example, onnon-volatile storage media (e.g., a hard drive, flash drive, orremovable optical disk) internal or external to the order processingserver 130, or internal or external to computing devices separate anddistinct from the order processing server 130. It will be appreciatedthat the customer information database 140 may likewise be cloud-based.In some embodiments, the order processing server 130 may be also coupledto an electronic database configured to store information associatedwith the inventory of products 190 made available by the retailer to thecustomer. In other words, while the order processing server 130 isillustrated in FIG. 1 as being coupled to one electronic database (i.e.,customer information database 140), it will be appreciated that theorder processing server 130 may be additionally coupled to an electronicdatabase akin to the inventory management database 160 configured tostore product inventory information

In some embodiments, when a customer initially sets up an online accountwith the retailer, the system 100 (i.e., order processing server 130 oranother server on the system 100 dedicated to new customer sign-up) isconfigured to permit the customer to generate a customer profileincluding personal information of the customer (e.g., name, address,phone number, and the like), payment methods (e.g., credit cardinformation), as well as product delivery settings of the customer(e.g., preferred delivery address and/or preferred delivery method). Itwill be appreciated that the customer may select new options and/orupdate previously selected options at any time after setting up theaccount with the retailer. In some embodiments, the personal informationof the customer and any product delivery options selected by thecustomer are stored in the customer information database 140 forsubsequent retrieval by the order processing server 130 and/or by aretailer computing device 150 (e.g., in response to a login request bythe customer, or product order placement by the customer).

The customer may access the order processing server 130 of the retailervia a customer computing device 120, which may be a stationary,portable, and/or hand-held electronic device, for example, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a mobile phone, or any otherelectronic, processor-based device that may be configured for data entryand communication with the order processing server 130 over the network125. In some embodiments, the customer may access the order processingserver 130 of the retailer via a graphical interface 122 displayed tothe customer on the customer computing device 120. The graphicalinterface 122 may include one or more graphical input fields 124 in theform of menu options and/or sub-interfaces that permit the customer toplace an order for one or more products 190 and to select a deliveryoption for one or more products 190 ordered by the customer. In someembodiments, the graphical interface 122 may be a retailer-associatedmobile application (app) installed on the customer computing device 120and configured to display various above-described menu options,notifications, and/or alerts for the customer. For example, electronicalerts may be transmitted to the customer computing device 120 via thenetwork 125 from the retailer computing device 150 and/or from the orderprocessing server 130 and displayed to the customer via the graphicalinterface 122.

In some embodiments, as the customer is attempting to connect (e.g., viathe customer's computing device 120 such as a cell phone) to theretailer's website, the order processing server 130 may request averification of the identity (e.g., username/password) of the customer.The order processing server 130 may first verify the identity of thecustomer (e.g., by comparing the username/password data entered by thecustomer into the login interface against username/password data in theprofile of the customer stored in the customer information database140). The order processing server 130 may then associate the customerprofile with the identity of the customer, retrieve the customer profilefrom the customer information database 140 based on information storedin the profile, and send the retrieved customer account information tothe customer computing device 120, which includes a graphical interface122 including one or more input fields 124 that permit the customer tocustomize various options relating to the ordering of products 190 fromthe retailer and/or the delivering of the ordered products 190 to thecustomer.

In some embodiments, after placing an on order for one or more products190 via the order processing server 130 using the graphical interface122 of the customer computing device 120, the customer can specify thatthe product 190 ordered by the customer is to be delivered to acustomer-designated restricted area 180 accessible by an entryway 185openable by way of an access code. Generally, the restricted area 180may be generally any area or structure that is accessible via a gate,door, or the like, that require being opened (e.g., via an access code)in order to gain access to the restricted area 180. For example, therestricted area 180 accessible by an entryway 185 that may be specifiedby the customer when placing the order may be a garage (having an accesscode-openable entryway in the form of a garage door), a front yard(having an access code-openable entryway in the form of a gate), a sideentry walkway (having an access code-openable entryway in the form of agate), a patio (having an access code-openable entryway in the form of agate or door), a porch (having an access code-openable gate entryway inthe form of a or door), a secure product storage lockers (or anotherproduct storage receptacle) having an access code-openable door, or thelike. at or near the residence of the customer.

In some embodiments, the order processing server 130 is configured toreceive and process an order by a customer for a product 190 from thecustomer computing device 120, to receive and process payment for theproduct 190 from the customer, and to transmit (e.g., to the retailercomputing device 150 via the network 125) the customer's selection of anoption to have the ordered products 190 delivered to acustomer-designated restricted area 180 accessible by an entryway 185openable by way of an access code. It will be appreciated that while theorder processing server 130 and the retailer computing device 150 may belocated at separate physical locations (e.g., regional/central datacenter, product distribution center, retail store, or the like), theretailer computing device 150 and the order processing server 130 of thesystem 100, in some embodiments, may be confined to a single facility.

The retailer computing device 150 may be a stationary or portableelectronic device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet, a mobile phone, or any other electronic device including aprocessor-based control circuit (i.e., control unit). For purposes ofthis specification, the term “retailer computing device” will beunderstood to refer to a computing device owned by the retailer or anycomputing device owned and/or operated by an entity (e.g., manufacturer,delivery service, worker of the retailer) having an obligation todeliver products 190 to or for the retailer. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the retailer computing device 150 is configured for data entry andprocessing as well as for communication with other devices of system 100via the network 125 which, as described above. In some embodiments, aswill be described below, the retailer computing device 150 is configuredto access one or more of the inventory management database 160 andcustomer information database 140 via the network 125 to facilitatedelivery of the products 190 ordered by a customer to a restricted area180 designated for delivery.

In the exemplary system 100 of FIG. 1 , the retailer computing device150 is in two-way communication with the AGV 110 via the network 125.For example, the retailer computing device 150 is configured, in someapproaches, to transmit at least one signal to the AGV 110 to cause theAGV 110 to move toward and/or away from the restricted area 180 in orderto transport, pick up, and/or drop off the product or products 190ordered by the customer. In some embodiments, the retailer computingdevice 150 is configured to cause the UAV 110 to travel to therestricted area 180 designated by the customer, locate the restrictedarea 180, cause the AGV 110 to wait a predetermined time at therestricted area 180, and permit the customer to retrieve the products190 from the AGV 110, for example, after verification of the customer'sidentity by the AGV 110 (or by the retailer computing device 150). Insome embodiments, as will be described in more detail below, theretailer computing device 150 may be configured to determine whether oneor more product pick/up and/or drop off conditions for the AGV 110 aremet prior to instructing the AGV 110 to move into a product unloadingposition in the restricted area 180 and drop off a product 190 from thecargo space 119 of the AGV 110 in the restricted area 180, permittingthe customer to retrieve the product 190 delivered by the AGV 110.

In some embodiments, the retailer computing device 150 is configured toobtain GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180 and to obtain GPScoordinates of a physical location of the AGV 110. In one approach, thecontrol circuit 210 (see FIG. 2 ) of the retailer computing device 150is configured, based on an analysis of the obtained GPS coordinates ofthe restricted area 180 and of the physical location of the AGV 110, todetermine a route for the AGV 110 toward the entryway 185 and into therestricted area 180 and to the drop-off location 189 to deliver theproduct 190 ordered by the customer. It will be appreciated that insteador in addition to the GPS coordinates, the retailer computing device 150may obtain a street address associated with the restricted area 180 anddetermine the route of the AGV 110 based on a known street address ofthe restricted area 180. The control circuit 210 of the retailercomputing device 150 is also programmed to generate and transmit asignal including the route to the AGV 110 such that the movement of theAGV 110 is guided via the route determined by the control circuit 210.

The AGV 110 is generally a vehicle configured to autonomously traverseone or more intended environments in accordance with one or more routesand/or determined paths, and typically without the intervention of ahuman or a remote computing device, while retaining the products 190therein and delivering the products 190 and/or to perform one or moretasks. Such a vehicle may be. an autonomous ground vehicle (AGV), anunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone), or the like. In some instances,however, a remote operator or a remote computer (e.g., retailercomputing device 150) may temporarily or permanently take over operationof the AGV 110 using feedback information from the AGV 110 (e.g., audioand/or video content, sensor information, etc.) communicated to a remotenavigation center and/or central control system (e.g., via network 125or other similar distributed network).

The exemplary AGV 110 of FIG. 1 includes one or more data stores 112,sensors 114, and emitters 116 each in communication with one or morecontrol circuits 118. In some embodiments, emitter 116 and sensor 114are implemented together through a single device. The AGV 110 deployedin some embodiments of the exemplary system 100 does not requirephysical operation by a human operator and wirelessly communicates with,and is wholly or largely controlled by, the retailer computing device150. For example, the retailer computing device 150 may controldirectional movement of the AGV 110 to the restricted area 180 based ona variety of inputs. In some approaches, the control circuit 118 of theAGV 110 is programmed with global positioning system (GPS) coordinatesof a restricted area 180 where the products 190 are to be delivered, andis configured to determine a route of the AGV 110 to the restricted area180 and to cause the AGV 110 to move toward the restricted area 180without receiving remote signals (e.g., route instructions) from theretailer computing device 150.

In some embodiments, the emitter 116 is configured as a two-waytransceiver that can receive the movement instructions (i.e., routeinstructions) in a signal transmitted over the network 125 from theretailer computing device 150, and that can send one or more signals tothe retailer computing device 150, or to an access control unit 187operatively coupled to the entryway 185 and configured to open theentryway 185 of the restricted area 180 upon receiving the correctaccess code. In some embodiments, the access control unit 187 isoperatively coupled to a transceiver 188 configured to transmit the GPScoordinates of the restricted area 180 over the network 125. In someconfigurations, the transceiver 188 is configured to transmit the GPScoordinates of the restricted area 180 to the customer informationdatabase 140 such that the GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180can be stored in the customer information database 140 in associationwith the customer for later retrieval (e.g., by the retailer computingdevice 150). In some configurations, the transceiver 188 is configuredto transmit the GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180 directly tothe retailer computing device 150 such that the retailer computingdevice 150 obtains the GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180 basedon the GPS coordinates transmitted by the transceiver 188 directly tothe computing device.

In some embodiments, the retailer computing device 150 determines anoptimal travel route for the AGV 110 from the origin of travel (e.g., adeployment station) of the AGV 110 to the destination (e.g., entryway185 to the restricted area 180 or drop off location 189 in therestricted area 180) of the AGV 110. In some aspects, the retailercomputing device 150 calculates multiple possible optimum routes. Insome embodiments, the system 100 integrates 2D and 3D maps of thenavigable space of the AGV 110 with physical locations of objects (e.g.,trees, cars, houses, or the like) located between the deploymentlocation of the AGV 110 and the destination location of the AGV 110. The2D and 3D maps of relevant geographic locations may be downloaded inreal-time or pre-stored in the customer information database 140. In oneapproach, after the retailer computing device 150 maps all objects tospecific locations using algorithms, measurements and global positionsystem (GPS) geo-location, the grids may be applied sectioning off themaps into access ways and blocked sections, enabling the AGV 110 usesuch grids for navigation and recognition. The grids may be applied to2D horizontal maps along with 3D models. Such grids may start at ahigher unit level and then can be broken down into smaller units ofmeasure by the retailer computing device 150 when needed to provide moreaccuracy.

In some embodiments, the retailer computing device 150 is configured toanalyze GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180 designated by thecustomer, to determine an optimal route for the AGV 110 to therestricted area 180, and to transmit to the AGV 110 a signal over thenetwork 125 including route instructions to guide the AGV 110 to therestricted area 180 along the determined route. In turn, the AGV 110,upon receipt of such a signal from the retailer computing device 150, isconfigured to navigate, based on the route instructions, to therestricted area 180 while retaining the products 190 ordered by thecustomer therein, and to navigate within the restricted area 180 afterthe entryway 185 is opened in order to drop off the product at the dropoff location 189. It will be appreciated that the route instructions,after being determined by the retailer computing device 150, can berecalculated by the control circuit 210 of the retailer computing device150 in real-time, for example, if an obstacle or another movementrestriction is detected along the originally calculated route of the AGV110, or if the customer updates the delivery location to anotherrestricted area 180 designated by the customer.

While only AGV 110 is shown in FIG. 1 for ease of illustration, it willbe appreciated that in some embodiments, the system 100 may include anynumber of AGVs 110 and the retailer computing device 150 maysimultaneously communicate with and/or transmit route instructions tomore than one (e.g., 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000, or more) AGVs 110simultaneously to guide the AGVs 110 along the routes determined by theretailer computing device 150 in order to transport products 190 totheir respective delivery destinations (e.g., restricted areas 180).Similarly, while only one restricted area 180 is depicted in FIG. 1 forease of illustration, it will be appreciated that in some embodiments,one or more AGVs 110 of the system 100 may be simultaneously guided byone or more retailer computing devices 150 to deliver products 190 tomore than one (e.g., 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000, or more) different restrictedareas 180. As described above, the AGV 110, after receiving a signalincluding the route instructions from the retailer computing device 150over the network 125, navigates to the location of the restricted area180 based on the route instructions while retaining the products 190ordered by the customer therein.

In some embodiments, when the AGV 110 moves to within a predetermineddistance (e.g., 3 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, etc.) fromthe access control unit 187, the control circuit 118 of the AGV 110 isprogrammed to cause the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 to transmit, via thenetwork 125, a signal including an electronic confirmation that theproduct 190 ordered by the customer has been delivered by the AGV 110 tothe entry way 185 at the restricted area 180 designated by the customer.In one approach, in response to receipt of such an electronicconfirmation from the AGV 110, the computing device 150 is configured totransmit to the AGV 110 a signal including an access code for openingthe entryway 185. In some embodiments, in response to receipt of thesignal including the access code from the retailer computing device 150over the wireless network 125, the AGV 110 is configured to relay (e.g.,via the emitter 116) the access code to an access control unit 187operatively coupled to the entryway 185. In other words, in someaspects, the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 is configured to receive thesignal including the access code from the retailer computing device 150over the wireless network 125 and to relay the access code to the accesscontrol unit 187 operatively coupled to the entryway 185. In someembodiments, the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 is configured for one or twoway communication with the transceiver 188 when the AGV 110 is locatedwithin a predetermined distance (e.g., 3 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet,20 feet, etc.) of the transceiver 188.

As such, the AGV 110 advantageously does not have to store the accesscode in the data store 112, which both reduces the data storagerequirements of the AGV 110 and improves the security of the system 100in that the access code to the restricted area 180 of the customer'shome is only permanently stored in the customer information database 140at a secure facility and not stored on an AGV 110, which moves aroundpublic streets and may become a theft target by hostile third parties.In response to receipt of the access code relayed by the AGV 110, theaccess control unit 187 causes the entryway 185 to open, therebyenabling the AGV 110 to enter the restricted area 180. In someembodiments, the control circuit 118 of the AGV 110 is configured togenerate, and the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 is configured to transmit,via the network 125, a signal including an electronic confirmation thatthe AGV 110 successfully entered the restricted area 180 via the entryway 185.

In some approaches, in response to receipt from the AGV 110 of theelectronic confirmation that the AGV 110 successfully entered therestricted area 180 via the entryway 185, the retailer computing device150 is configured to transmit to the AGV 110 a signal over the wirelessnetwork 125 including movement instructions for the AGV 110 while in therestricted area 180. In one approach, the retailer computing device 150is also configured to again transmit the access code to the AGV 110 toenable the AGV 110 to again relay the access code to the access controlunit 187 in order to close the entryway 185 while the AGV 110 is presentin the restricted area 180, thereby advantageously enhancing thesecurity of the restricted area 180 while the AGV 110 is moving withinthe restricted area 180. In some approaches, the route (i.e., movement)instructions for the AGV 110 while in the restricted area 180 aretransmitted to the AGV 110 prior to the AGV 110 entering the restrictedarea 180 and/or prior to arriving at the entry way 185 to the restrictedarea 180. For example, the route (i.e., movement) instructions for theAGV 110 may be transmitted by to the AGV 110 by the retailer computingdevice 150 after the product 190 is loaded into the AGV 110 and prior tocommencement of the delivery of the product 190 by the AGV 110.

In some configurations, based on the route instructions or a separatesignal received from the retailer computing device 150, the AGV 110 isconfigured to move into and within the restricted area 180 and deliverthe product 190 ordered by the customer to a product drop off location189 in the restricted area 180. In some configurations, based on theroute instructions or a separate signal received from the retailercomputing device 150, the AGV 110 is configured to remain proximate theproduct drop off location 189 while retaining the product 190 ordered bythe customer therein for a period of time indicated in the routeinstructions or separate control signal. In some configurations, basedon the route instructions or a separate signal received from theretailer computing device 150, the AGV 110 is configured to drop theproduct 190 off (i.e., release the product from the cargo space 119) atthe product drop off location 189. While reference numeral 189 in FIG. 1is referred to as a drop off location, it will be appreciated that insome embodiments, the AGV 110 is configured to pick up one or moreproducts 190 (e.g. return products) from the drop off location 189, forexample, after dropping off one or more products 190 at the drop offlocation 189, or without having to drop off the products at the drop offlocation 189.

In some embodiments, when the AGV 110 moves into position to drop offthe product 190 or to release the product 190 to the customer at thedrop off location 189, the control circuit 118 of the AGV 110 isprogrammed to cause the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 to transmit, via thenetwork 125, a signal including an electronic confirmation that theproduct 190 ordered by the customer has been delivered by the AGV 110 tothe drop off location 189 in the restricted area 180. In one approach,in response to receipt from the AGV 110 of such an electronic deliveryconfirmation, the computing device 150 is configured to transmit to thecustomer computing device 120 an electronic alert that the product 190ordered by the customer has been delivered to the drop off location 189.In situations when the customer is home, the customer may come out tothe drop off location 189 after receiving such an electronic deliveryconfirmation in order to attempt to either retrieve the product 190 fromthe cargo space 119 of the AGV 110, or from an exposed surface of thedrop off location 189.

In some embodiments, one or more product drop stations may be providedin the restricted area 180 in order to enable the AGV 110 to drop offthe product 190 in a specifically designated place. In one approach,such product drop stations may be in the form of secure lockers suchthat the product remains secured and may be accessed only by thecustomer even after the AGV 110 drops the product off in the restrictedarea 180 (e.g., a garage). In one approach, the product drop stationsmay include one or more charge ports where the AGV 110 may be recharged.

In some embodiments, the AGV 110 is configured to, in response to eithera control signal from the retailer computing device 150, or averification code entered by the customer, to permit the customer toretrieve the products 190 ordered by the customer from the interiorcargo space of the AGV 110. According to some embodiments, the emitter116 of the AGV 110 is also configured to transmit, via the network 125,a signal including an electronic confirmation that the product 190ordered by the customer has been retrieved by the customer from the AGV110 at the drop off location 189 of the restricted area 180. In someapproaches, in response to receipt of such an electronic confirmationfrom the AGV 110, the retailer computing device 150 is configured totransmit return route instructions to the AGV 110 to guide the AGV 110back to a deployment station of the AGV 110, or to another restrictedarea 180 of another customer designated as a delivery location foranother product 190 stored in the AGV 110.

In some embodiments, the control circuit 118 is configured to generateand the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 is configured to transmit, via thenetwork 125, a signal including an electronic confirmation that the AGVhas moved a predetermined distance (e.g., 3 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet, 15feet, 20 feet, etc.) out of the restricted area 180 after havingsuccessfully delivered the product 190 at the drop off location 189. Insome approaches, in response to receipt of such an electronicconfirmation from the AGV 110, the retailer computing device 150 isconfigured to transmit a signal including the access code for closingthe entryway 185, which may be the same as, or different from the accesscode for opening the entryway 185. In some embodiments, in response toreceipt of the signal including the access code from the retailercomputing device 150 over the wireless network 125, the AGV 110 isconfigured to relay (e.g., via the emitter 116) the access code to theaccess control unit 187 operatively coupled to the entryway 185 in orderto enable the access control unit 187 to close the entryway 185 andthereby prevent unauthorized access to the restricted area 180. In oneapproach, after the AGV 110 relays the access code to the access controlunit 187 in order to close the entryway 185, the AGV 110 is configuredto confirm that the entryway 185 actually closes, for example, byactivating (via the control circuit 118) the sensor 114, which may be avideo camera that visually confirms closure of the entryway 185. In oneconfiguration, if the sensor 114 indicates that the entryway 185 has notclosed, the control circuit 118 of the AGV 110 is programmed to causethe AGV 110 to return to the drop off location 189 in order to guard theproduct 190 left in the drop off location 189 (e.g., to prevent theft).

In some embodiments, the AGV 110 includes one or more propulsion systems(e.g., motors, wheels, tank treads, etc.) that enable the AGV 110 to atleast accelerate, deaccelerate, and/or traverse an environment using anavigation coordinate system, such as GPS, coordinate mappinginformation, beacon location information, cellular signal triangulation,other navigation systems and/or information, or a combination of two ormore of such navigation systems and/or information. Further, thenavigation coordinate system can be configured to provide locationinformation, and in some instances time information. In someembodiments, the AGV 110 is configured to operate in different weatherconditions, and/or can be readily modified depending on expected weatherconditions (e.g., wheels replaced with tank treads when it isanticipated that the AGV 110 may encounter snow and/or ice). The AGV 110can, in some applications, be further configured to communicate withother AGVs, other autonomous vehicles (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)), transport vehicles, multiple different types of computingdevices, a remote central control system, other computing devices,remote databases, and/or other such devices.

In some embodiments, the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 is a wired or awireless transceiver configured to convey information, notifications,warnings and/or deterrents to a customer, a worker of the retailer, apotential threat (e.g., animal, person that is a potential threat),unknown third party, a remote central control system, a securityservice, a municipal police service, other such entities, or combinationof two or more of such entities. The emitter 116 can comprise one ormore output devices (e.g., speakers, displays, whistles, buzzers, lightsand similar items) that convey text, audio, and/or visual signals. Insome embodiments, emitter 116 can be configured to convey notificationshaving textual, audible and/or visual content. Similarly, the emitter116 may additionally or alternatively be configured to facilitatewireless data communications with a computing device, including but notlimited to, retailer computing device 150.

In some embodiments, the emitter 116 may be configured to emit one ormore irritants. For example, an “irritant” can include one or morestimuli or agents that can cause a “hostile” person, animal, or the liketo not touch or tamper with the AGV 110 and/or to remove themselves froma predetermined perimeter about the AGV 110. Applicable irritants caninclude chemical, audible, visual irritants, or combination of two ormore such irritants. In some embodiments, the emitter 116 can compriseone or more reservoirs, pumps, nozzles, motors, compressed gas, etc.that can be used to eject and/or adjust the direction of emission of theirritant. Additionally or alternatively, the output devices of theemitter 116 may include one or more speakers, whistles, buzzers, and thelike that can be activated to generate one or more warnings (e.g., thatmay gradually increase in volume) audible irritants, and/or deterrentnoises. Audible irritants can be substantially any relevant audiblenoise that can provide an alert, warn and/or deter interaction with theAGV 110. For example, audible irritants can include audible soundswithin a frequency range of about 2 kHz to about 5 kHz, canine-specificaudible sounds, sounds having a volume greater than one or morethresholds, audible alerts that can be understood by a person, and/orother such audible alerts and/or irritants.

In some instances, one or more emitters 116 enable the AGV 110 toprogressively escalate the deterrent effect of the deterrent and/orirritant. For example, the AGV 110 may initiate the generation of anaudible alert when a human, animal, automobile, or the like is detectedwithin a first threshold distance (which may depend on a speed at whichthe animal, person, automobile, etc. is approaching), increase thevolume of the audible alert when within a second threshold distances(less than the first threshold distance), spray one or more streams ofwater when within a third threshold distance (less than the seconddistance), and spray prepper spray when within a fourth thresholddistance for more than a threshold period of time and/or contacts theAGV 110.

The exemplary AGV 110 further includes one or more sensors 114. Thesensors 114 can include substantially any relevant device that providesinformation to the AGV 110 to be used in navigation, customer detection,potential threat detection, distance measurements, environment mapping,location determination, and/or other such sensor information. In someembodiments, the sensor 114 includes one or more devices that can beused to capture data related to one or more objects located within athreshold distance relative to the AGV 110. For example, the AGV 110includes at least one sensor 114 configured to detect at least oneobstacle between the AGV 110 and the restricted area 180 or in therestricted area 180 between the AGV 110 and the drop off location 189along the route determined by the retailer computing device 150 for theAGV 110. Based on the detection of one or more obstacles by such asensor 114, the AGV 110 is configured to avoid the obstacle(s).

In some embodiments, one or more sensors 114 can be included and/orcooperated with the AGV 110 that include, but are not limited to, one ormore sensors to detect an object within one or more threshold orpredetermined distances of the AGV 110, capture data within a thresholddistance relative to AGV 110, detect movement, measure temperature,capture images and/or video, capture thermographic, infrared, and/ormulti spectral images, capture images of entities attempting to tamperwith AGV 110, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one ormore odometers, one or more location sensors, one or more microphones(e.g., which can be configured to capture audible authentication codesand/or voice prints, threatening language, verbal input from customers,verbal inquiries from customers, etc.), one or more distance measurementsensors (e.g., laser sensors, sonar sensors, sensors that measuredistance by emitting and capturing a wireless signal (which can compriselight and/or sound) etc.), 3D scanning sensors, other such sensors, or acombination of two or more of such sensors.

In some aspects, the AGV 110 includes one or more sensors 114 incommunication with one or more access panels of AGV 110 and/orpositioned adjacent to such access panels to sense when such panels aretampered with. In some aspects, the AGV 110 includes one or more sensorsconfigured to detect the temperature in the cargo space 119 of the AGV110 and coupled to one or more controllers configured to raise or lowerthe temperature of the cargo space 119 of the AGV 110 in order topreserve the freshness of the product 190 or to bring the product 190 toan appropriate consumption temperature. More generally, in someembodiments, package detection and tracking may include elementsincluding but not limited to ambient temperature of the cargo space 119,temperature of the product 190, acceptable thresholds for temperature ofthe product 190, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the AGV 110 includes a sensor 114 configured todetect a combination of numbers indicating a street address associatedwith the restricted area 180 designated as a delivery location by thecustomer. For example, the emitter 116 AGV 110 can be configured totransmit sensor data including the combination of letters detected bythe sensor 114 on the curb in front of the house of which the garage isthe restricted area 180 being delivered to, enabling the retailercomputing device 150 to authenticate the restricted area 180 based onthe received sensor data and the customer address information stored inthe customer information database 140.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include an access encryptionsystem comprising a blockchain that may include authentication-basedaccess and encryption to enables the AGV 110 to access the restrictedarea and/or to track and authenticate the AGV 110 and/or the products190 being delivered by the AGV 110 to the restricted area 180. Forexample, when a customer (e.g., in the restricted area 180) interactswith a product 190, the customer is permitted to do so via a private orpublic authentication key. In response, new blocks may be added tosubsequent root blocks, which will contain information relating to thedate and time a product 190 delivered by the AGV 110 was accessed, aswell as the authentication key that accessed the product 190. In someembodiments, authentication and access may be restricted to specificblockchain authentication keys that enable access of the AGV 110 to therestricted area 180 and/or the customer to access the contents of an AGV110. In some aspects, access to the products in the AGV 110 may bedetermined at the scheduling and purchase of a delivery or products andin other aspects, access may be determined while a product 190 is movedthrough the supply chain and/or when the product 190 is delivered by theAGV 110 to the drop off location 189. In some embodiments, temporaryauthentication keys may be provide to a customer to grant temporaryaccess to an AGV 110 or a specific storage compartment of the cargospace 119 of the AGV 110.

In some embodiments, one or more data stores 112 provide an informationrepository that typically stores programs 111 and files 113. The AGV 110may, in some embodiments, further access one or more programs 111, files113, and/or other relevant information external to AGV 110 andaccessible via network 125. Files 113 can comprise informationtransmitted by the retailer computing device 150, data captured by thesensor 114, customer information, customer identifier information,computing device identifier information, product information, customerorder information, navigation and/or routing information, locationinformation, mapping information, AGV identifier information,communication procedures, threat information, sensor data, images,video, historic information, and/or other such information, and/or othersuch information. For example, in some embodiments, files 113 canfurther comprise one or more notification templates, which are softwareused by the AGVs 110 as a basis to convey salutations and/oradvertisements to customers and/or pedestrians located within athreshold distance relative to the AGVs 110. Notification template'scontent may at least be provided by product manufacturers and/or ownersof the AGVs 110. In some embodiments, notification templates may furtherbe personalized using customer's specific information to, for example,target a specific customer and increase engagement between the customerand the AGV 110.

Personalized notifications can reference customer history, currentneeds, anticipated needs, and/or similar information that can increasethe probability that customers make desired product and/or servicepurchases. Commercial product information and/or customer specificinformation may be added to notification templates in real-time prior totheir transmission by the AGVs 110 when the presence of customers and/orpedestrians is detected by the AGV 110.

Commercial product information can include, for example, product names,product types, manufacturer names, manufacturer origin, ingredientnames, ingredient types, component names, and/or component types.Notification templates can comprise audio and/or visual components, forexample, music, speech, tones, images, and/or video. Files 113 canfurther comprise personal and/or non-public information about thecustomers, including but not limited to, information about browserhistory, location, birthdays, delivery dates, spouses, pets, and/orheirs associated with the customers. Files 113 can comprisepredetermined biometric data associated with the customers, which can beused for authentication purposes, and/or determining unknown and/orhostile third parties. Applicable biometric data can include, but is notlimited to voice prints, iris patterns, retina-patterns, handgeometries, earlobe geometries, facial landmarks, thermographicsignatures, vascular patterns, skin texture data points, and/or walkinggate data points. Predetermined biometric data can include data capturedby the sensors 114, provided by the customers, external sensors, and/orreceived from an external central computing system.

As described above, the AGV 110 further includes programs 111 that arestored in the data store 112 and/or other memory, and utilized at leastby the one or more control circuits 118. In some applications, one ormore of the programs 111 are software that are executed by the one ormore control circuits 118 to facilitate the operation, control,commercial activity, interaction with customers, deterring potentialdanger and the like to the AGV 110. For example, the one or more controlcircuits 118, in executing one or more programs 111, can use datagenerated by sensors 114 to detect when customers or hostile thirdparties are positioned within a threshold distance relative to the AGVs110, generate notifications in response to detecting the presence ofcustomers and/or hostile third parties, as well as generatenotifications in response to receiving triggering events from theretailer computing device 150. For example, the presence of customerspositioned within threshold distances relative to AGVs 110 can beconfirmed using geolocation data, which reflects the locations of thecustomers, received from the retailer computing device 150 (e.g., basedon GPS data obtained from the customer computing device 120).

Hostile third parties can refer to any human or animal or autonomousvehicle attempting to interfere with the operation of AGV 110, whichmay, for example, be characterized as any attempts to gain unauthorizedaccess to the cargo space 119 of the AGV 110, attempts to gainunauthorized access to the AGV 110 software and/or hardware, attempts togain unauthorized access to products 190 being transported by the AGV110, attempt to damage the AGV 110, attempts to obstruct the travel pathof AGV 110, and/or other activities that may be detrimental to the AGV110, and/or interfere with the AGV 110.

Additionally or alternatively, control circuit 118, in executing one ormore programs 111, can generate one or more types of biometric data(discussed above) using information captured via sensor 114, anddetermine whether the generated biometric data has one or more thresholdrelationships to predetermined biometric data included in files 113,wherein generated biometric data having threshold relationships identifycustomers and such data lacking the threshold relationships identifyunknown and/or hostile third parties.

With reference to FIG. 2 , an exemplary retailer computing device 150configured for use with the systems and methods described herein mayinclude a control circuit or control circuit 210 including a processor(for example, a microprocessor or a microcontroller) electricallycoupled via a connection 215 to a memory 220 and via a connection 225 toa power supply 230. The control circuit 210 can comprise a fixed-purposehard-wired platform or can comprise a partially or wholly programmableplatform, such as a microcontroller, an application specificationintegrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, and so on. Thesearchitectural options are well known and understood in the art andrequire no further description here.

The control circuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150 can beconfigured (for example, by using corresponding programming stored inthe memory 220 as will be well understood by those skilled in the art)to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functionsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the memory 220 may be integral tothe processor-based control circuit 210 or can be physically discrete(in whole or in part) from the control circuit 210 and is configurednon-transitorily store the computer instructions that, when executed bythe control circuit 210, cause the control circuit 210 to behave asdescribed herein. (As used herein, this reference to “non-transitorily”will be understood to refer to a non-ephemeral state for the storedcontents (and hence excludes when the stored contents merely constitutesignals or waves) rather than volatility of the storage media itself andhence includes both non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM))as well as volatile memory (such as an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM))). Accordingly, the memory and/or the control unit may bereferred to as a non-transitory medium or non-transitory computerreadable medium.

The control circuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150 is alsoelectrically coupled via a connection 235 to an input/output 240 thatcan receive signals from the order processing server 130 (e.g., datafrom the customer information database 140 relating to an order for aproduct 190 placed by the customer and/or information (e.g., GPScoordinates) associated with a physical location (e.g., GPS coordinatesor street address) of the restricted area 180 selected by the customer),or from any other source that can communicate with the retailercomputing device 150 via a wired or wireless connection. Theinput/output 240 of the retailer computing device 150 can also sendsignals to the order processing server 130 (e.g., electronicnotification confirming retrieval of the product 190 by the customerfrom the AGV 110), or to any other device in wired or wirelesscommunication with the retailer computing device 150.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the processor-based control circuit210 of the retailer computing device 150 is electrically coupled via aconnection 245 to a user interface 250, which may include a visualdisplay or display screen 260 (e.g., LED screen) and/or button input 270that provide the user interface 250 with the ability to permit anoperator of the retailer computing device 150 to manually control theretailer computing device 150 by inputting commands via touch-screenand/or button operation and/or voice commands to, for example, tocommunicate with the customer computing device 120 and/or an AGV 110. Itwill be appreciated that the performance of such functions by theprocessor-based control circuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150is not dependent on a human operator, and that the control circuit 210may be programmed to perform such functions without a human operator.

In some embodiments, the display screen 260 of retailer computing device150 is configured to display various graphical interface-based menus,options, and/or alerts that may be transmitted to the retailer computingdevice 150 and displayed on the display screen 260 in connection withvarious aspects of the order placed by the customer. The inputs 270 ofthe retailer computing device 150 may be configured to permit anoperator to navigate through the on-screen menus on the retailercomputing device 150 and make changes and/or updates to the routeinstructions for the AGV 110 during delivery of the product 190 to therestricted area 180. It will be appreciated that the display screen 260may be configured as both a display screen and an input 270 (e.g., atouch-screen that permits an operator to press on the display screen 260to enter text and/or execute commands.)

In some embodiments, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computingdevice 150 is programmed to determine that one or more products 190ordered by the customer via the order processing server 130 is to bedelivered to a restricted area 180 having an access code controlledentryway 185. For example, when the customer places an order for one ormore products 190 via the processing server 130, the customer isprovided with an input field 124 on the graphical interface 122 of thecustomer computing device 120 prompting the customer to select adelivery option, with one of the available options being delivery of theproduct 190 to a restricted area 180 (e.g., a garage, front yard, sideentry, etc.) designated by the customer. In some embodiments, thecontrol circuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150 is programmedto authorize commencement of a delivery attempt of the product 190 tothe customer after verification that physical location of the restrictedarea 180 has been identified.

In one aspect, prior to, or after the commencement of the deliveryattempt of one or more products 190 to the restricted area 180designated for delivery by the customer, the control circuit 210 of theretailer computing device 150 is programmed to receive and/or otherwiseobtain the physical location of the restricted area 180. For example, ina situation where the customer requested delivery of the products 190 toa garage at a residence of the customer, the control circuit 210 mayobtain the street address of the customer and/or GPS coordinates and/orother location identifiers associated with the garage at the customer'sresidence from the customer information database 140 or, in one aspect,directly from the transceiver 188 located in the customer's garage.

In some embodiments, when the delivery of the product 190 via the AGV110 is in progress, and more specifically, after the AGV 110 has arrivedat the entryway 185 to the restricted area 180, the control circuit 210is configured to receive, via the network 125, an authentication of theidentity of the restricted area 180. In one aspect, the sensor 114 ofthe AGV 110 may include a video camera configured to visually detect thecustomer's street address (e.g., by detecting the numbers on a curb oron the house of the customer) and/or visually detect the garage dooritself (e.g., snap a still photo of the garage door) and generateidentity detection data. The emitter 116 of the AGV 110 may thentransmit such identity detection data over the network 125 to theretailer computing device 150, after which the control circuit 210 ofthe retailer computing device 150 is configured to obtain (e.g., fromthe customer information database 140) authentic identification dataassociated with the restricted area 180 to determine whether there is amatch. In one approach, if the identity detection data associated withthe restricted area 180 transmitted by the emitter 116 matched theauthentic identification data stored in the customer informationdatabase 140, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computing device150 is programmed to send (via the input/output 240) to the AGV 110 asignal including an access code that, when relayed by the AGV 110,causes the access control unit 187 to open the entryway 185. In oneapproach, the access code to the access control unit 187 is nottransmitted to the AGV 110 directly from the retailer computing device150, but is transmitted to the AGV 110 directly from customerinformation database 140. In one aspect, upon a successful relay of theaccess code by the AGV 110 to the access control unit 187 and successfulopening of the entryway 185 (which is confirmed by sensor 114 of the AGV110), the AGV 110 is configured to transmit, and the control circuit is210 of the retailer computing device 150 is configured to receive, overthe network 125, an electronic confirmation that the AGV 110 has beensuccessfully granted access into the restricted area 180.

In some embodiments, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computingdevice 150 is programmed to generate customer alerts in connection withthe delivery of the products 190 to the drop off location 189 at therestricted area 180. The customer alerts may be generated by theretailer computing device 150 based on information received from the AGV110. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the customer alerts may betransmitted from the retailer computing device 150 via the network 125to the customer computing device 120, and the customer computing device120 may transmit data responsive to the customer alerts and/or otherdata to the retailer computing device 150 via the network 125.

For example, the retailer computing device 150 may transmit a signalover the network 125 to the customer computing device 120 including analert indicating that the AGV 110 has dropped off the product 190 at thedrop of location 189, or an alert indicating that the AGV 110 was unableto successfully gain access to the restricted area 180. Similarly, thecustomer computing device 120 may transmit a signal over the network 125to the retailer computing device 150 including a notification that theproduct 190 dropped off by the AGV 110 at the drop off location 189 hasbeen successfully picked up by the customer. In some embodiments,customer alerts sent to the customer computing device 120 may includebut are not limited to short message service (SMS) messages, electronicmail (e-mail) messages, instant messenger messages, voice mail messages,and/or push notifications (to a mobile app on the customer computingdevice 120).

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of an exemplary method 300 for facilitatingdelivery of a product 190 ordered by a customer to a customer-specifiedrestricted area 180 accessible by an entryway 185 openable via an accesscode. The embodiment of the method 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 includesproviding an AGV 110 configured to retain and transport the product 190ordered by the customer (step 310) and providing a retailer computingdevice 150 including a processor-based control circuit 210 (step 320).

In some embodiments, when the AGV 110 moves to within a predetermineddistance (e.g., 3 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, etc.) fromthe access control unit 187 that controls the opening and closing of theentryway 185 to the restricted area 180, the control circuit 118 of theAGV 110 causes the emitter 116 of the AGV 110 to transmit, via thenetwork 125, a signal including an electronic confirmation that theproduct 190 ordered by the customer has been delivered by the AGV 110 tothe entry way 185 at the restricted area 180. In response to receipt ofsuch an electronic confirmation from the AGV 110, the exemplary method300 of FIG. 300 includes sending a first signal from the retailercomputing device 150 to the AGV 110 via a wireless network 125, thefirst signal including the access code for opening the entryway 185(step 330). After the signal including the access code for opening theentryway 185 is transmitted over the network 125 from the retailercomputing device 150 to the AGV 110, the exemplary method 300 furtherincludes relaying, via the AGV 110 and in response to receipt of thefirst signal from the computing device over the wireless network 125,the access code to the access control unit 187 operatively coupled tothe entryway 185 (step 340).

In one aspect, the AGV 110 is configured to relay the access codereceived from the retailer computing device 150 via the emitter 116,which is configured for one or two way communication with thetransceiver 188 coupled to the access control unit 187 when the AGV 110is located within a predetermined distance (e.g., 3 feet, 6 feet, 10feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, etc.) of the transceiver 188. When the AGV 110relays the access code received from the retailer computing device 150to the transceiver 188 coupled to the access control unit 187 thatcontrols the opening and closing of the entryway 185 to the restrictedarea 180, the method 300 further includes causing the access controlunit 187 to open the entryway 185 in response to receiving the accesscode relayed by the AGV 110 to the access control unit 187 (step 350).

As discussed above, in some embodiments, the retailer computing device150 determines an optimal travel route for the AGV 110 from the originof travel (e.g., a deployment station) of the AGV 110 to the destination(e.g., entryway 185 to the restricted area 180 or drop off location 189in the restricted area 180) of the AGV 110. For example, according tosome configurations, the retailer computing device 150 is configured toanalyze GPS coordinates of the restricted area 180 designated by thecustomer, to determine an optimal route for the AGV 110 to therestricted area 180, and to transmit to the AGV 110 a signal over thenetwork 125 including route instructions to guide the AGV 110 to therestricted area 180 and/or to the drop off location 189 along thedetermined route. To that end, the exemplary method 300 includestransmitting, from the retailer computing device 150, a second signal tothe AGV 110 over the wireless network 125, the second signal includingmovement instructions for the AGV 110 (step 360).

In turn, the AGV 110, upon receipt of such a signal from the retailercomputing device 150, is configured to navigate, based on the routeinstructions, to the entryway 185 of the restricted area 180 and to thedrop off location 189 in the restricted area 180 while retaining theproducts 190 ordered by the customer therein. To that end, the exemplarymethod 300 of FIG. 3 further includes moving the AGV 110 into therestricted area 180 to deliver the product 190 ordered by the customerbased on the movement instructions contained in the second signalreceived by the AGV 110 from the retailer computing device (step 370).It will be appreciated that after transmitting initial movementinstructions to the AGV 110, the control circuit 210 of the retailercomputing device 150 according to some embodiments is programmed torecalculate the route of the AGV 110 in real-time, for example, tofacilitate avoidance of obstacles along the originally calculated routeof the AGV 110.

In some embodiments, the AGV 110 transmits (e.g., via the emitter 116over the network 125) a signal including an electronic confirmation thatthe product 190 ordered by the customer has been dropped off by the AGV110 at the drop off location 189 designated by the customer. In oneapproach, such an electronic confirmation is sent directly to theretailer computing device 150, although the electronic confirmation maybe instead sent to the customer information database 140 for retrievalby the retailer computing device 150. In some embodiments, after receiptfrom the AGV 110 of such an electronic confirmation, the retailercomputing device 150 transmits an electronic notification to thecustomer computing device 120 indicating that the product 190 ordered bythe customer has been dropped off at the drop off location 189. In someconfigurations, when the route instructions transmitted to the AGV 110by the retailer computing device 150 include an instruction to the AGV110 to remain at the drop off location 189 for a predetermined intervalof time (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or more than 1 hour), theAGV 110 is configured to remain at the drop off location 189 for theperiod of time indicated in the route instructions. In such situations,the electronic notification transmitted by the retailer computing device150 to the customer computing device 120 includes an indication of theinterval of time that the AGV 110 will wait at the drop off location 189for the customer to retrieve the product 190 from the cargo space 119 ofthe AGV 110.

In some embodiments where the AGV 110 is instructed to remain at thedrop off location 189 until the customer manually retrieves the product190 from the cargo space 119 of the AGV 110, the electronic notificationtransmitted by the retailer computing device 150 to the customercomputing device 120 includes a verification code that the customerwould be required to provide to the AGV 110 (either via the customercomputing device 120 or by manually entering via an interface of the AGV110) in order to gain access to the cargo space 119 of the AGV 110. Asdescribed above, instead of a verification code that must be entered orotherwise transmitted by the customer, the AGV 110 according to someembodiments is equipped with a sensor 114 configured to detect biometricdata associated with the customer, enabling the verification of thecustomer via the biometric data detected by the sensor 114. As describedabove, the AGV 110, in response to either a control signal from theretailer computing device 150, or a verification code or biometric dataentered by the customer, permits the customer to retrieve the product190 ordered by the customer from the cargo space 119 of the AGV 110.

For example, after the customer or person attempting to retrieve theproduct 190 from the AGV 110 is authenticated as an authorized person,the AGV 110 either opens the cargo space 119 to permit the customer toremove the product 190 from the cargo space 119, or ejects the product190 from the cargo space 119 without opening the cargo space 119 toaccess by the customer. In addition, in some configurations, the emitter116 of the AGV 110 is also configured to transmit, via the network 125,a signal including an electronic confirmation that the product 190ordered by the customer has been retrieved by the customer from the AGV110 at the drop off location 189 in the restricted area 180 designatedas the delivery location by the customer.

In one approach, in response to receipt of such an electronicconfirmation from the AGV 110, the retailer computing device 150transmits a signal including updated route instructions to the AGV 110to guide the AGV 110 back to a deployment station of the AGV 110, or toanother restricted area 180 designated as a delivery location by anothercustomer of the retailer. In turn, the AGV 110, upon receipt of such asignal from the retailer computing device 150, navigates either back toa deployment station or to the next delivery destination based on theupdated route instructions. In some embodiments, in response to receiptof the electronic confirmation from the AGV 110 that an authorizedcustomer retrieved the product 190 from the AGV 110, the retailercomputing device 150 transmits a signal to the order processing server130 indicating that the order placed by the customer to have the product190 delivered to the restricted area 180 has been successfullycompleted.

The systems and methods described herein advantageously allow customersto purchase products from a retailer and have the products convenientlydelivered for the customers to restricted areas at the residences of thecustomers while the customers may be away from their residences. Suchsystems and methods provide a significant convenience for the customersof the retailer and are likely to increase customer loyalty to theretailer. In addition, such systems and methods provide retailers withsignificant operation cost savings, since deliveries are made viaautonomous ground vehicles that do not require a human operator. Inaddition, the systems and methods provided herein, by dropping offproducts in secured areas, increase the likelihood that the productdelivered by the autonomous ground vehicles may be stolen by hostilethird parties or damages by severe weather conditions.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of othermodifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made withrespect to the above described embodiments without departing from thescope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for facilitating delivery of a productordered by a customer to a customer-specified restricted area accessibleby an entryway openable via an access code, the system comprising: anautonomous ground vehicle configured to retain and transport the productordered by the customer, the autonomous ground vehicle including atransceiver and a data store, the data store configured to storeelectronic information including: files including at least one of:sensor data, customer identification data, customer order data,navigation and routing data, location data, and autonomous groundvehicle identifier data; and executable programs that facilitate atleast one of operation, control, and interactive commercial activity ofthe autonomous ground vehicle; a computing device including aprocessor-based control circuit and configured to send a first signal tothe transceiver of the autonomous ground vehicle via a wireless network,the first signal including the access code for opening the entryway;wherein the transceiver of the autonomous ground vehicle is configuredto: receive the first signal including the access code from thecomputing device over the wireless network; relay the access codereceived from the computing device to a control unit operatively coupledto the entryway to cause the control unit to open the entryway inresponse to receipt of the access code from the autonomous groundvehicle; and wherein the transceiver is configured to relay the accesscode received from the computing device to the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway without transmitting the access code to bestored in the data store or in any other memory on-board the autonomousground vehicle, such that the access code received by the transceiverfrom the computing device is not stored in the data store or in anyother memory on-board the autonomous ground vehicle after thetransceiver relays the access code to the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway; wherein the computing device is configured totransmit a second signal to the transceiver of the autonomous groundvehicle via the wireless network, the second signal including a code forclosing the entryway; and wherein, in response to receipt of the secondsignal, the transceiver is configured to: relay the code for closing theentryway received from the computing device to the control unitoperatively coupled to the entryway in order to cause the control unitto close the entryway in response to receipt of the code for closing theentryway relayed by the autonomous ground vehicle; and wherein thetransceiver is configured to relay the code for closing the entrywayreceived from the computing device to the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway without transmitting the code for closing theentryway to be stored in the data store or in any other memory on-boardthe autonomous ground vehicle, such that the code for closing theentryway received by the transceiver from the computing device is notstored in the data store or in any other memory on-board the autonomousground vehicle after the transceiver relays the code for closing theentryway to the control unit operatively coupled to the entryway.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the customer-specified restricted area is agarage at a residence of the customer, wherein the system furthercomprises an order processing server configured to process an order forthe product placed by a customer, and wherein the order for the productplaced by the customer specifies that the product be delivered via theautonomous ground vehicle to the garage at the residence of thecustomer.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway is coupled to a transceiver configured totransmit the GPS coordinates of the restricted area, and wherein thecomputing device is configured to obtain the GPS coordinates of therestricted area based on the GPS coordinates transmitted to thecomputing device by the transceiver coupled to the control unitoperatively coupled to the entryway.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe computing device is configured to: obtain global positioning system(GPS) coordinates of the restricted area and GPS coordinates of aphysical location of the autonomous ground vehicle; and based on ananalysis of the obtained GPS coordinates of the restricted area and ofthe physical location of the autonomous ground vehicle, determine aroute for the autonomous ground vehicle toward the entryway and into therestricted area to deliver the product ordered by the customer.
 5. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the computing device is configured totransmit a third signal to the autonomous ground vehicle over thewireless network, the third signal including movement instructions forthe autonomous ground vehicle based on the determined route; and whereinthe autonomous ground vehicle, after receipt of the third signal fromthe computing device over the wireless network, is configured to moveinto the restricted area, based on the movement instructions containedin the third signal, to deliver the product ordered by the customer. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver of the autonomous groundvehicle is configured to receive the movement instructions in the thirdsignal transmitted to the autonomous ground vehicle from the computingdevice, the transceiver being configured to send one or more signals tothe computing device over the wireless network.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein the autonomous ground vehicle is configured to transmit tothe computing device a first electronic notification including aconfirmation that the product ordered by the customer is located in therestricted area, and wherein, in response to receipt of the firstelectronic notification from the autonomous ground vehicle, the controlcircuit of the computing device is configured to transmit, to a mobilecomputing device of the customer, an electronic alert that the productordered by the customer is located in the restricted area.
 8. The systemof claim 7, wherein the autonomous ground vehicle, after transmission ofthe first electronic notification to the computing device, is configuredto remain in the restricted area and retain the product ordered by thecustomer until the product ordered by the customer is retrieved by thecustomer from the autonomous ground vehicle, and wherein the autonomousground vehicle is configured to transmit to the computing device asecond electronic notification including a confirmation that the productordered by the customer has been retrieved by the customer from theautonomous ground vehicle in the restricted area.
 9. The system of claim7, wherein the autonomous ground vehicle, after transmission of thefirst electronic notification to the computing device, is configured todrop the product retained therein onto a product drop-off location inthe restricted area and to exit the restricted area, and wherein theautonomous ground vehicle is configured to transmit to the computingdevice a second electronic notification including a confirmation thatthe product ordered by the customer has been dropped off by theautonomous ground vehicle at the product drop-off location in therestricted area.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the computing deviceis configured to transmit the second signal to the autonomous groundvehicle via the wireless network after receipt of the second electronicnotification from the autonomous ground vehicle.
 11. A method forfacilitating delivery of a product ordered by a customer to acustomer-specified restricted area accessible by an entryway openablevia an access code, the method comprising: providing an autonomousground vehicle configured to retain and transport the product ordered bythe customer, the autonomous ground vehicle including a transceiver anda data store, the data store configured to store electronic informationincluding: files including at least one of: sensor data, customeridentification data, customer order data, navigation and routing data,location data, and autonomous ground vehicle identifier data; andexecutable programs that facilitate at least one of operation, control,and interactive commercial activity of the autonomous ground vehicle;providing a computing device including a processor-based controlcircuit; sending a first signal from the computing device to thetransceiver of the autonomous ground vehicle via a wireless network, thefirst signal including the access code for opening the entryway; by thetransceiver of the autonomous ground vehicle and in response to receiptof the first signal from the computing device over the wireless network,relaying the access code received from the computing device to a controlunit operatively coupled to the entryway to cause the control unit toopen the entryway in response to receipt of the access code from theautonomous ground vehicle; and relaying, by the transceiver, the accesscode received from the computing device to the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway without transmitting the access code to bestored in the data store or in any other memory on-board the autonomousground vehicle, such that the access code received by the transceiverfrom the computing device is not stored in the data store or in anyother memory on-board the autonomous ground vehicle after thetransceiver relays the access code to the control unit operativelycoupled to the entryway; transmitting, by the computing device, a secondsignal to the transceiver of the autonomous ground vehicle via thewireless network, the second signal including a code for closing theentryway; and in response to receipt of the second signal, relaying, bythe transceiver, the code for closing the entryway received from thecomputing device to the control unit operatively coupled to the entrywayin order to cause the control unit to close the entryway in response toreceipt of the code for closing the entryway relayed by the autonomousground vehicle; and relaying, by the transceiver, the code for closingthe entryway received from the computing device to the control unitoperatively coupled to the entryway without transmitting the code forclosing the entryway to be stored in the data store or in any othermemory on-board the autonomous ground vehicle, such that the code forclosing the entryway received by the transceiver from the computingdevice is not stored in the data store or in any other memory on-boardthe autonomous ground vehicle after the transceiver relays the code forclosing the entryway to the control unit operatively coupled to theentryway.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the customer-specifiedrestricted area is a garage at a residence of the customer, and furthercomprising providing an order processing server configured to process anorder for the product placed by a customer, and wherein the order forthe product placed by the customer specifies that the product bedelivered via the autonomous ground vehicle to the garage at theresidence of the customer.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein thecontrol unit operatively coupled to the entryway is coupled to atransceiver configured to transmit the GPS coordinates of the restrictedarea, and further comprising, obtaining, by the computing device, theGPS coordinates of the restricted area based on the GPS coordinatestransmitted to the computing device by the transceiver coupled to thecontrol unit operatively coupled to the entryway.
 14. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: obtaining, by the computing device, globalpositioning system (GPS) coordinates of the restricted area and GPScoordinates of a physical location of the autonomous ground vehicle; andbased on an analysis of the obtained GPS coordinates of the restrictedarea and of the physical location of the autonomous ground vehicle,determining, by the computing device, a route for the autonomous groundvehicle toward the entryway and into the restricted area to deliver theproduct ordered by the customer.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: transmitting, from the computing device, a third signal tothe autonomous ground vehicle over the wireless network, the thirdsignal including movement instructions for the autonomous ground vehiclebased on the determined route; and after receipt of the third signalfrom the computing device over the wireless network and by theautonomous ground vehicle, moving into the restricted area, based on themovement instructions contained in the third signal, to deliver theproduct ordered by the customer.
 16. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising receiving, by the transceiver of the autonomous groundvehicle, the movement instructions in the third signal transmitted tothe autonomous ground vehicle from the computing device, the transceiverbeing configured to send one or more signals to the computing deviceover the wireless network.
 17. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: transmitting, from the autonomous ground vehicle to thecomputing device, a first electronic notification including aconfirmation that the product ordered by the customer is located in therestricted area; and in response to receipt of the first electronicnotification from the autonomous ground vehicle, transmitting, via thecontrol circuit of the computing device to a mobile computing device ofthe customer, an electronic alert that the product ordered by thecustomer is located in the restricted area.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising: after transmission of the first electronicnotification to the computing device, causing the autonomous groundvehicle to remain in the restricted area and retain the product orderedby the customer until the product ordered by the customer is retrievedby the customer from the autonomous ground vehicle; and transmitting,from the autonomous ground vehicle to the computing device, a secondelectronic notification including a confirmation that the productordered by the customer has been retrieved by the customer from theautonomous ground vehicle in the restricted area.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising: after transmission of the first electronicnotification to the computing device, causing the autonomous groundvehicle to drop the product retained therein onto a product drop-offlocation in the restricted area and to exit the restricted area;transmitting, from the autonomous ground vehicle to the computingdevice, a second electronic notification including a confirmation thatthe product ordered by the customer has been dropped off by theautonomous ground vehicle at the product drop-off location in therestricted area.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprisingtransmitting from the computing device and via the wireless network, thesecond signal to the autonomous ground vehicle after receipt of thesecond electronic notification from the autonomous ground vehicle.